|
Top
rated providers in the 401kExchange Micro-Market
Ratings* (plans with less than $1 million) report
include many well rated providers from 2005. Topping
the fund manager list is CUNA which focuses almost
exclusively on credit unions followed by First
Mercantile, a TPA owned by Sun Trust, and Vanguard which
distributes through local full-service TPA’s. Baden, a
TPA recently purchased by Clark Consulting, tops the
record keeper ratings followed by CUNA and Standard.
While
the cost of entry into the micro market is less than the
mid market ($10-$100 million), achieving excellent
results can be harder given lower potential revenue
opportunities per plan. Providers disciplined enough to
make money and provide excellent surveys in the micro
market have a good chance of successfully moving into
the small market ($1-$10 million) as previously proven
by Hartford, Principal and Hancock.
Along
with Vanguard, well known providers making our top 10
include Hartford, American Funds, Principal, Hancock and
Fidelity. Regional TPA’s include Baden and Angell, a
perennial top performer; national providers Securian and
Pai also received very high scores with Pai’s scores
especially impressive for a firm that does a lot of
outsourced record keeping which is a high-volume,
low-margin business.
*Though
the formula for calculating rankings changed, the survey
format remained the same. This year, providers were
ranked based on the percentage of plan sponsor clients
that rated them a 5 for excellent or 4 for very
satisfied. In the past we added up all scores and
divided by the number of surveys. To qualify for our
Micro-Market “Top-Rated” list, providers needed at least
40 surveys completed in 2006.
|
Less than
$1 Million in Plan Assets |
|
Fund Manager 2006 |
# of
Surveys |
% Rated
4 or 5 |
2005
Ranking |
|
1. |
CUNA Mutual Life |
92 |
86.96% |
1 |
|
2. |
First Mercantile Trust |
44 |
84.09% |
* |
|
3. |
Vanguard Group, The |
80 |
77.50% |
5 |
|
4. |
Standard Insurance Co |
80 |
76.25% |
2 |
|
5. |
Hartford Life |
483 |
74.33% |
3 |
|
6. |
American Funds |
610 |
73.61% |
4 |
|
7. |
Principal Financial |
1,305 |
73.26% |
10 |
|
8. |
Securian |
134 |
73.13% |
9 |
|
9. |
John Hancock |
1,545 |
72.56% |
6 |
|
10 |
Mutual of America |
47 |
70.21% |
* |
|
|
Market Total |
15,127 |
67.77% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plan Administrator/ RecordKeeper 2006 |
# of
Surveys |
% Rated
4 or 5 |
2005
Ranking |
|
1. |
Baden |
41 |
87.80% |
* |
|
2. |
CUNA Mutual Life |
87 |
87.36% |
1 |
|
3. |
Standard Insurance Co |
71 |
81.69% |
2 |
|
4. |
Angell Pension Group |
47 |
80.85% |
4 |
|
5. |
Securian |
98 |
78.57% |
9 |
|
6. |
Pai |
46 |
78.26% |
* |
|
7. |
John Hancock |
471 |
76.01% |
8 |
|
8. |
American Funds |
198 |
75.76% |
4 |
|
9. |
Fidelity Investments |
352 |
75.28% |
10 |
|
10 |
Hartford Life |
364 |
75.27% |
2 |
|
|
Market Total |
14,961 |
72.92% |
|
|
* |
Did not have enough surveys to qualify in 2005 |
|
Return to Newsletter |
 |
